1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer on-line help systems and, more specifically, to graphic based help methods in an interactive computer environment.
2. Prior Art
At times, a computer user may discover that he requires additional information about the computer or a particular computer program while the computer is in operation. This additional information is commonly known in the art as "help" information. If the help information is provided while a computer program is running, it is known as "on-line help." To provide on-line help, the user must have a way of accessing help information from either the computer's operating system or the program which is running. Typically, a computer program will incorporate a help sub-program to access the information. The help sub-program only displays the help information when requested by a user.
One common method of providing on-line help involves using the entire video display screen of the computer to display help messages. The help messages temporarily displace the program's normal display. When the user signals the computer that the help messages are no longer needed, the computer erases them from the display and reestablishes the normal display. Alternately, some programs have a separate area on the screen for help messages.
Having a help sub-program which displaces the program's normal display in order to present help messages is known in the art as "on-line documentation." The help messages typically concern a particular detail about the program and will often also have statements about peripheral, although related, subjects. These messages are usually indexed and associated with key words or phrases. On-line documentation is generally structured like a manual, and users can flip through its electronic "pages." However, the context that created the user's query does not influence determining what help information is provided. Thus, on-line documentation is not able to decide which of its many messages is most appropriate when the user requests help. Another problem with on-line documentation is that, since the help messages displace the entire screen display when called up, the user is not able to see the program's display which led to his requesting help.
Providing a separate section of the video display for user messages avoids some of on-line documentation's problems. The screen display is not entirely displaced. Thus, the user is able to see the output of the program which led to his request for help. However, reserving a portion of the display for user messages restricts both the program's display area and the help messages' size and shape.
Another drawback of prior art systems is that the information available is typically limited to a single level of sophistication. The user is not able to obtain more detailed information about a particular topic if desired. Although hierarchically organized help systems are known in the art, the hierarchy represents categorization levels rather than sophistication levels. Categorization levels refer to a help program whose help messages are arranged in an outline form of main topics, sub-topics, sub-sub-topics, etc. Employing a hierarchial help system facilitates a user in discovering a desired topic's help message. But that message may present information which is either too simple or too sophisticated for the user's needs. Providing different levels of sophistication in a help system improves the user's ability to understand the computer program.